The Rambling Thoughts Of Metro Man
by OrangeAfterglow
Summary: Part 3 in the "Rambling Thoughts Of..." series and the most dificult to write. Metro Man sat in his hideout watching event in Metro City unfold. What was going through his head after the battle with Titan was over?


Well _that_ was a turn up for the books. I must admit I had my doubts, that Titan punk looked tough! I wish I could have helped, honestly I do but Li'l Blue needed to go through all of that to truly find himself! He needed to prove to himself that he could actually be the hero. To think, that scrawny blue kid from back-in-the-day would have become the city's hero. Sure did take him a long time to get there.

We have both come a long way since we were kids, him especially. Yeah, I know I was rough on him but hey, I was the strongest kid in the world! That kind of power really does a number on your head when you're 7. To tell you the truth a lot of the kids were kinda impressed with some of his gadgets at first, it was a shame that they always ended up blowing up in his face. After the first few times everyone was just worried about what the newest toy was going to do to them. The little fish robot with the laser gun was a _big_ mistake. That one really scared everyone. Then came the dodge ball thing! Why would _anyone_ design something that fired dodge balls back at people with that much force! Teacher said he _really_ wanted to injure someone that time round. The last time I saw the kid was when he blew up some kind of powder bomb in the school house. Everyone was covered in blue powder, it was like he wanted everyone to look like him or something. It took me long time to realise that that was probably exactly what he wanted. To make everyone look like he did. To show us that we were no different from him.

Kids can be so horrible.

It was almost….15 years until I saw him again. I had recently been named as Metro City's hero but there wasn't much to the gig then. I used my super powers to impress people and gain publicity for good causes. Then, out of nowhere all these little robot things appeared and all grabbed onto me! It wasn't until _he_ appeared out of the smoke, with some ridiculous helmet on his head, gloating loudly about finally having me in his clutches. Aside from the absurd theatrical flair he was exactly the same. Still trying to impress everyone with his crackpot inventions. One thing had changed though. He was _serious_ about it this time. His inventions weren't just backfiring anymore. They were actually built to _hurt_ people! He declared himself to be a super villain, proclaiming that he was going to defeat me once and for all and take over the city.

Never had much luck with that one did he?

I'll give him one thing though, he never stayed down for long. No matter how often I hauled him back to jail he always seemed to find a way to walk back out again. What was that place made of, paper? It was almost like he was just testing himself against me. I was pretty sure that he already had his next big invention in the works while I was ripping the first one apart.

Then the game changed. Another player entered the field.

I had been interviewed by a lot of journalists since becoming the city's hero, but none of them could hold a candle to her. Roxanne Ritchie. Oh she knew how to wind me round her little finger, and she got it right on the first try. Maybe that is why she attracted _his attention so quickly. She somehow managed to get me to open up without any effort what-so-ever. She just fluttered those big eyes at me and looked at me as if I had just saved her entire world. If she had asked me tell her the sky was green and the grass was blue I would have told her with absolute certainty. _

_It felt as if the bottom had dropped out of my world when HE declared to the city that she was his captive. The look on her face said it wasn't a game. She was truly terrified, on the verge of begging for her life as he held a laser gun at her head. He looked even more manic than he normally did. It didn't take much to defeat him, I hauled him back off to jail with a black eye thrown in for good measure. Roxanne, though very shaken, was back on her feet in no time. The newspapers lapped it up, stories ran for weeks about Megamind's kidnapping attempt and just what he was really like when he had her. _

_Then it happened again. And again. And again. _

_Slowly things started to change again. It was clear on Roxie's face that she was no longer scared for her life. Oh sure she never really knew what the blue alien was going to do to her, but she told me once that she just knew that he wasn't going to hurt her. Not seriously anyway. If he was going to do that he would have done it by now, she said. It was clear too that Megamind was enjoying himself. Oh sure, I could have spent more time trying to stop him from taking her in the first place, but c'mon, I may be a Super Hero but I can't be everywhere at once. Besides, I'm pretty sure Roxie would have gotten fed up of me hanging around her every day. In fact, I know that for a fact, I asked her about it one day. I had taken her up on an offer for a chat that she made after I rescued her one time so I dropped in on her balcony. She told me that we were already getting too much attention together and that if I started shadowing her then people would get really suspicious. Plus it would annoy the hell out of her!_

_So I sat back and waited. The routine would run the same every time, so much so that in between his 'kidnappings' I could actually kick back and relax knowing that nothing really serious was going to happen. I watched the people of Metro City going about their normal lives, they just seemed to ….enjoy life so much! So that got me thinking, Why was I the only one that wasn't allowed to have a life? After all I had done for the City, hasn't any of it been enough? The police force in the city was a good one, they handled pretty much all of the crime in the city, there was only the odd event that didn't involve Megamind that needed my intervention. _

_Those thoughts kept on nagging me for weeks, it got to the point that I was actually getting jealous of all of the City's citizens. Why couldn't that be me? Why couldn't I just walk down the high street without a care in the world and not be mobbed by fans wanting my autograph. The life of a celebrity is so difficult, no one else truly understands!_

_It was on the day that Megamind releases his most powerful weapon yet that I made my decision. I was going to get out of this gig even if it killed me, turns out it did. _

_Kinda. _

_I had been serving the people of Metro City for most of my life! Always putting others before myself and it was killing me! Ok, not literally but no one can live with that kind of pressure for long before it breaks them. This job had no pay and no holiday benefits! I could never take a day off incase someone needed my help!_

_So. I got out._

_I know, I know. It would never be a popular decision, but you sometimes have to look after number one you know what I mean? But I couldn't stand the thought of the citizens hating me. So, I decided to fake my own death. _

_It worked perfectly!_

_After everything had calmed down and night had fallen I crept out of the observatory and made my way to my hideout. The schoolhouse had been my home for years, I kept all of my favourite stuff there and most importantly, that's where I kept my guitars. _

_Oh it took a while to settle into my new life, I avoided watching the news channels as much as possible beside, I knew Megamind would not actually hurt anyone. In all of his career as a super villain, I was the only one he had killed and I wasn't even dead! _

_The fate of Metro City did weigh heavily on my mind, especially after Roxie and Megamind broke into my home and found me still alive and eating a sandwich. I must admit I hadn't heard much about this Titan kid until they came to ask me to step in. But what would have happened if I had done that? The city would have welcomed me back as some sort of miracle, begging me to not only save them from Titan but also to defeat Megamind too. Then we would have been back at square one!_

_No, there was no point doing that. Megamind had started it, he was just going to have to find a way to finish it. He was smart enough, he was always smarter than me, he could have defeated me countless times if he had only stopped trying to match my strength with his robots and had fought smart. _

_When they left I was so close to following them. I was so depressed over the whole thing that I couldn't even write my music! What kind of Music Man was I if I couldn't even turn a bleak mood into lyrical magic? _

_I knew they would figure it out somehow. As Roxie walked away she turned back one with such a defiant look in her eyes. She may as well have said 'Who needs you anyway?' as she followed her blue friend out into the daylight._

_There were times when I was listening to the news broadcasts when I regretted the decisions I had made immensely. But it was too late. It was too late for me to save Roxie when she was taken by Titan, it was all up to Megamind to prove himself and save the day._

_True to form, he didn't disappoint. As I watched the transmission that one of his little flying robots was filming I saw the old Megamind come back. That showman that seemed to believe that he could win just by impressing the onlookers staring up from their safe havens. The giant face in the sky? Classic!_

_He has always been such a performer. _

_That battle looked like it was the toughest of his life. I never let him know this but whenever it came down to a physical fight between me and him, I always pulled my punches. Killing him would hot have been very heroic, the city would not get the justice it wanted if I did that. Titan didn't seem to have the same idea. He was really going for it! I'm surprised that the little guy managed to stay standing through the whole thing! But I guess that is what desperation does for you._

_In the end, he won the fight with his smarts and finally got what he had always wanted. The crowd of adoring and very impressed fans that had once cheered for me. He had finally replaced me in their hearts and minds. I was so proud of him._

_I like to think that I had a major part in his change of character. After all, without me, he would never have become a villain in the first place and if I hadn't have stepped down he would never have had to become the hero!_

_Oh yes, I saved the day once again. _

_I still got it baby!_


End file.
